Truman National Security Project

Watch the debate, check out highlights, read the transcript and see the fact check: all here.

Tonight’s debate, moderated by veteran Bob Schieffer, will focus on foreign policy — a topic the sitting president usually retains a strong advantage in over challengers. This Monday at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida will be no exception as President Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney jab and weave.

Unlike Romney, Obama’s political ascendancy on the national stage has always been marked by his stance on major foreign policy and national security issues. His stance against the Iraq invasion and commitment to end it was a touchstone topic for his first administration, as was making a successful pivot to Afghanistan before initiating a draw-down there. Romney’s primary achievement in the international community was his successful turnaround of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, an accomplishment with the dual disadvantage of reminding voters about his Mormon faith (a touchy topic that hasn’t played a significant role on the campaign, to the relief of many) and his recent diplomatic facepalm by suggesting that Britain wasn’t prepared to secure the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.

“Spoiler alert: We got bin Laden.” The president’s joke at the annual Catholic Charities gala bluntly pointed to what many consider the biggest single indicator that this administration has outperformed 8 years of post-9/11 Republican military strategy: by taking out the most wanted terrorist in the world. But while conservative commentators twist themselves into knots trying to push back on this fact, progressives may push forward on other issues – not least of which include the White House’s crackdown on leakers (by cracking down on the journalist who use them), the high-profile drone attacks that have become a cornerstone of Pentagon tactics, and insufficient action in response to mass atrocities ongoing in Syria and Sudan.

Read the entire article here.